Page 11 - MetalForming December 2011

uating several FEA packages for weld analysis, recently added the Abaqus Welding Interface (AWI), from Simulia, Providence, RI (a Dassault Systèmes brand). An extension to Abaqus/CAE, the welding interface streamlines the gen- eration of two-dimensional welding sim- ulations by providing a graphical user interface for defining all aspects of a weld model, such as weld beads, weld pass- es, film load and radiation loads.
“The weld simulation tool helps because it allows us to carry out further analysis of thermal and structural mod- els directly within the Abaqus unified FEA environment,” says Hodgson. “This has helped us reduce data-translation issues, training time and expense.”
Researchers decided to use the AWI to examine three different welding sce- narios: autogenously (no filler metal) welded plates, an eight-pass groove- welded plate and a seven-pass ring- weld disk. The autogenously welded plate model simulated a single plate of pressure-vessel steel melted by one or two passes of a welding torch. The more complex eight-pass and ring-weld models involved multiple torch passes and a fer- ritic-steel filler material. Through the AWI, the temperature history calculated in the thermal model provides the tem- perature input for the structural model. This allows the structural model to ana- lyze the thermal expansion and con- traction of the materials being welded that result from changes to the materials’ mechanical properties.
“One of the most time-consuming aspects of weld modeling is the surface definitions for heat-transfer coefficients,” says Hodgson. “These definitions must be constantly updated as the weld build- up modeling progresses. The automation of this by the AWI helps speed the process considerably.”
Simulia: 401/276-4400; www.simulia.com
Springs in Space
Newcomb Spring Corp., Decatur, GA, has supplied Lockheed Martin
with specially designed springs for mission-critical applications on the NASA Juno mission, launched August 5, 2011 to explore Jupiter. Newcomb also helped Lockheed Martin with spring design, including determining necessary tolerances.
Newcomb supplied 60 springs charged with deploying the craft’s
solar array, as well as springs helping to keep doors latched and allowing the deployment of the craft’s arms while in orbit.
Watch an animation of Juno’s solar-array deployment process at www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKY7yTqIT28. Newcomb Spring:
www.newcombspring.com
Tech Update
STAMTEC SERVO PRESSES
There’s a lot to like in our servo presses: More CONTROL
Tighter TOLERANCES G Gr re ea at te er r C CA AP P PA A A AB B BI I IL L LI I IT T TI I IE ES S
Improved PRODUCTIVITY Enhanced QUALITY
4160 Hillsboro Hwy. Manchester, TN 37355 Phone: 931.393.5050 Fax: 931.393.5060 www.stamtec.com
Deep Drawing
Compound Pressing and Forging
General Forming
Perforation/Blanking
In-Die Heating
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/December 2011 9
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